Scientists Create 3D Printed Blood Vessels Using ‘Bio-Ink’

The ability to one day print organs is what medical 3D printing industry is after. However, it’ll still be a while for that to become a reality. Human vasculature is incredibly complex and difficult to print accurately, but a team from the Lawrence Livermore National Library (LLNL) seem to have found a way to 3D print blood vessels.

The California-based team used special 3D bioprinters to print an initial structure out of cells and other organic materials and then to augment it using ‘bio-ink’ – a material designed to be compatible with living human tissue.

As the video above shows, the researches printed two small blood vessels out of bio-ink before injecting blood and other essential nutrients through the vessels. Eventually, the capillaries grew and connected the two vessels. This brings us one step closer to actually seeing almost realistic artificial tissue samples and even transplants.